The field of the invention is motor vehicle accessories, and the invention relates more particularly to devices useful for towing motor vehicles.
Motor homes and other recreational vehicles are becoming more popular, but when they are parked at a campsite and connected to the various water and electrical supplies contained therein, it is convenient to have a motor vehicle which can be used for errands and side trips. Thus, it is becoming more and more popular to tow a small, typically front wheel driven motor vehicle behind a motor home or other recreational vehicle.
The typical approach is to place the motor vehicle in neutral and connect a tow bar between the recreational vehicle and the towed vehicle. Unfortunately, such connection causes the driven wheels and the transmission to rotate, and this has several disadvantages. Most transmissions are not properly lubricated when towed. Another substantial disadvantage is that the odometer logs tow miles. Thus, a vehicle which may have been driven only a few hundred miles may have been towed thousands of miles and thus quickly use up its warranty and decrease its resale value simply because it has been towed.
Another disadvantage of towing a vehicle which has been placed in neutral is that the turning of the transmission will increase the power needed to tow the vehicle and thus decrease the mileage of the recreational vehicle or other towing vehicle.
The single axle disconnect principle is utilized in four wheel drive vehicles made by GMC, Chevrolet, AMC Eagle, Dodge and Jeep and in the 1989 Toyota four wheel drive pickup. Such vehicles are converted between two wheel drive and four wheel drive by connecting or disconnecting such axles.